Changing Numerals
by DancingToMusic
Summary: Penny has a secret: she can see people's numbers, stating the day they will die. Then Penny meets a boy named Leonard, who also has a secret, and they fall for each other instantly. But can they save each other before their time runs out? Based off the book 'Numbers' by Rachel Ward. Rated T but may change later on.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is my first TBBT fic. Yay! It's an AU story, and based off the book series 'Numbers' by Rachel Ward, so if you want to get a further understanding on this, I suggest you read it, it's a really great series, although not all parts in this fic are in the book. Anyway, here is the first chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot of this story. All other rights go to CBS and the author of the book series that is featured.**

**-OoO-**

Penny placed her deer ornament on the shelf in her new apartment, turning its head so it was facing the entrance. She then grabbed the next ornament and positioned it on the other side of the shelf, next to a photo of her and her best friend from Nebraska, Brooke.

Penny blinked back tears. She'd hated these last few years, Brooke getting cancer, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it except wait for the day…

The day she'd die.

She could have stopped it from happening; she could've changed the number that was in her eyes the day they first met. But she knew in her heart that there was no changing that wretched number, and no getting rid of it.

The blonde heaved a sigh that wracked her body with sobs as she looked around her apartment, hoping to find something that would distract her. There were still boxes laying around the floor, either unopened or still full, indicating that her mind had been elsewhere this past three hours, which they had.

Ever since she was born Penny had seen numbers every time she looked into someone's eyes. At first she had no idea what they meant, but when her grandmother died in hospital on the 7th of March ten years ago, she knew what they meant, as the number in her eyes said it all.

That it was her death date.

Penny shook her head and started going through another box, this one with kitchen appliances inside. But she didn't notice the footsteps that had just reached her door, until the silent whispering of a man startled her.

"Do we knock?"

The young woman gasped in shock as she whipped her head towards her doorway, startled to see two men standing there. She was too far away to make out their numbers, but their features were clear as day.

Her eyes first landed upon a tall, skinny man, with pale skin and a face that held no signs of emotion. His T-shirt had a print of a guy dressed in red and yellow, and Penny was sure it was a superhero she'd seen on her cousin's comic book once. She turned her eyes to the next man…

And her heart literally stopped.

He was adorable, in a nerdy kind of way. He was short, much shorter than the other guy, with curly dark hair that reached his earlobes and square-rimmed glasses that really brought out his eyes, ya know, when you can't see the day they die.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," the short guy said, smiling toward her, though it seemed a little nervous, if not forced.

"Of course we didn't, we weren't intending to startle her. We just came over here because you wanted to see if you could – "

"Sheldon!" he hissed, before once again smiling at Penny, and, seeing that she wasn't going to say anything, continued speaking. "So, uh, you moving in here?"

Penny snapped out of her daze. "Oh, ah, well what do you think?" she asked, grinning nervously.

"Leonard, I believe that was – "

"Sheldon, shut up!" he hissed again, causing an eye roll from the taller man. Penny looked down at her feet, beginning to see the outline of their numbers as they stepped closer to the entrance.

Her head rose again as they started speaking, though she took a step back before doing so. "So, anyway, I'm Leonard, this is Sheldon," he stated, indicating to the tall man who gave a slight nod in greeting.

"Hello," he said.

"And we live across the hall," Leonard finished, signalling to the room across the hall with his thumb. Penny's heart flipped a little upon hearing that news; that he was living just ten feet away from where she was.

"Oh, um, well my name's Penny," she began. "And obviously I live here," she giggled nervously, cursing herself for how stupid that sounded.

Fortunately though Leonard's smile widened and he chuckled a bit. "Cool," he replied, then went back to a straight face. "Well, perhaps you'd like to come over sometime, when you're not busy. That is if you want to!" he finished hastily, trying not to sound too eager.

Penny stepped closer, though looking at the ground again. "I'd like that," she replied shyly, making sure a few of her bangs covered her face so they couldn't see the blush spreading across her face.

Leonard nodded. "Cool," he repeated. "Well, we'll leave you to the unpacking."

Penny nodded. "Okay, bye then," she said, looking up and meeting his eyes.

Leonard didn't look away. "Bye," he said, although he made no interest in moving.

"Nice meeting you, bye." Penny was jolted once again out of her daze as she saw Sheldon open their apartment door and step inside. For a moment she forgot he was even there, because she knew at that moment that she had found the one.

Even if he was gone in fourteen days.

**-OoO-**

Leonard stepped into his and Sheldon's apartment and closed the door behind him, standing against it and staring ahead, a scared look on his face. "Oh my God," he whispered.

Sheldon looked over from the kitchen island at his friend and shook his head. "Leonard, how many times have I told you to not use that kind of language in this apartment."

Leonard whisked his head toward his friend and back again. "Sorry, sorry," he muttered, his mind still elsewhere.

Sheldon glanced at the door and back to Leonard. "You're not done with her, are you?" he asked.

Leonard shook his head, and then took a pause before speaking. "Our babies will be smart and beautiful!" he exclaimed, though his voice sounded different, like he was actually imagining what they looked like.

Sheldon turned to his roommate and blinked, as though his friend was crazy. "Not to mention imaginary," he responded, earning a glare from Leonard.

**-OoO-**

**A/N Okay, that last part was purely for my entertainment XD But it is the beginning of a major part in the coming of this fic. Feel free to review if you liked it :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N SO sorry for the late update. I lost someone close to me recently, and it's been really hard to concentrate on writing. But I just finished reading the last book of the Numbers series and got some incredibly amazing ideas for my fanfiction, so here is the next chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**-OoO-**

Leonard once again tossed another t-shirt onto his bed, full of other t-shirts that were tossed there. He cursed himself for getting worked up over having tea with someone they just met, I mean, he'd done it once before, and that one time was enough.

"Maybe it's because she's different," Leonard murmured to himself, then shook his head to clear the thought. He'd never tell anyone what was in his head; it was for him to deal with and him only.

The experimental physicist eventually settled on a dark blue t-shirt and black pants, not caring if Sheldon approved or not.

"Good lord Leonard, aren't you just a tad overdressed for having coffee with your future companion, even though she hasn't even said yes to going out with you yet?"

Leonard sighed as he shut his bedroom door behind him. "I just want to look presentable when I ask her, Sheldon," he said. "And I'm certainly not going over there in checked pants and a Green Lantern t-shirt."

Sheldon just stared at him. "Of course you're not; you don't own a Green Lantern t-shirt. No, Leonard Hofstadter wouldn't dare dream of asking a girl he just met out for_ coffee _in regular clothing, he'd much rather dress look like he was about to head out to a _wedding!_"

Leonard stormed past Sheldon and into the main room, checking his laptop for any last minute work emails.

"Wow, Leonard Hofstadter, finally getting a girl in his life!"

Leonard clenched his teeth. "Hello to you to Howard," he stated, not turning around and heading straight to the front door.

Howard paused the video game he was playing and walked towards Leonard. "C'mon Leonard, aren't you going to tell me about the girl your seeing?" he asked, nudging Leonard. "And if things don't go according to plan, could you give her this piece of paper?" He slyly slipped a slip of paper into Leonard's hand, winking as he did so.

"Hey, I'm single too, and way sexier than you!"

Leonard once again rolled his eyes as his other friend Raj came over to them, also handing Leonard a slip of paper. "Guys, instead of assuming I'm not going to get her, maybe wishing me luck would be nice?"

Howard and Raj ignored him. "Seriously; you can't even speak to women unless there's alcohol around. What makes you think you're going to get her?" Howard yelled to Raj.

Raj put his hands up, as if surrendering. "Hey, you might be white and have good pick-up lines, but you're thirty and still live with your mother!"

"At least I can talk to women!"

"At least I have better looking skin than you!"

Neither of them noticed Leonard sneaking out the door, closing it softly behind him.

**-OoO-**

Penny ran her hands through her hair one last time and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She didn't know what she was so nervous about; she'd been on heaps of dates with guys she hardly knew before.

"I guess none of them were going to die in fourteen days," she murmured to herself, splashing cold water on her face to help her keep calm, careful not to ruin her mascara.

Leonard had called in before, dressed like he was going to a wedding, and asked her out for coffee. This time she had really looked him in the eye, so she didn't seem like some shy, insecure girl (which she so wasn't) and managed to stammer out a "Sure, thankyou."

Now, Penny was pacing back and forth in her apartment, glancing at her watch every five seconds, like it would just magically change to 7:00.

It ticked to 6:50.

Penny sighed heavily and flopped down on her couch, massaging her temples. Ever since she could see and recognise what the numbers represented, life had been tricky. She couldn't do anything about them, they were there until the day that person died.

But the scariest thing about the numbers is that she couldn't just see when the person died, she could feel it too.

When she had looked into her grandma's eyes for the last time, she had seen from her point of view: the white hospital room, the heart monitor, herself and her family. She could even hear her mother crying!

But instead of feeling scared, Penny felt peaceful, like she was actually her grandma, knowing she was going to a better place.

_*Knock, knock, knock*_

Penny jumped at the knocking on her door. She was really going to have to get used to that.

**-OoO-**

**A/N Once again I'm so sorry for the late update, and the boring chapter. Don't worry though, things will get more interesting from here on :)**

**The next chapter will be Penny and Leonard's first date, as well as some more on what Penny feels when she sees the numbers. I'm hoping to update every Friday and maybe Tuesday's as well. Review if you would like! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N This chapter took longer to write than I thought, but here it is :) Thanks also to all of you who have had the time to review; it really encourages me to continue on this site :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**-OoO-**

Sheldon, Howard and Raj sat in the dining room of 4A, eating pizza, like every Thursday night. Unfortunately for the former, he had to listen to his two friends arguing over who would have more luck when it came to girls. Sheldon shook his head as picked up another slice of pizza.

"Dear Lord, what did I do to deserve this?" he mumbled, as Raj and Howard continued to disagree with one another.

"I'm telling you, women find magic tricks to be an amazing flaw in a guy!" Howard yelled to Raj.

Raj rolled his eyes. "Maybe if the girl is blind or incredibly stupid!" he yelled back.

Howard glared at him. "Yeah, well, since you can't talk to women, you'd only be able to pick them up if they were deaf!"

"Hey, deaf women can be attractive!"

"I didn't say they weren't!"

Sheldon glanced at his watch. "Guys, could you keep it down? Dr Who's about to start."

Howard and Raj stared at Sheldon before Howard spoke up. "Fine, we'll settle this at a bar. Whoever can get a woman by the end of the night is the real man of the group."

Raj stood up. "Deal, prepare to become the weak link my friend." He shook Howard's hand before they both exited the apartment, slamming the door behind them. You could still hear their shouts echoing up the stairwell.

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Really, who would want to pick up women at a bar instead of watching Dr Who with me?" He tsked. "If I were them I'd choose this!" He picked up the remote and turned the TV on, but those thoughts were whisked away as the theme of his program began to play.

**-OoO-**

"Right this way," the waiter smiled, showing Leonard and Penny to a table by a window, overlooking Pasadena. They both thanked the waiter, before sitting down and exchanging nervous smiles with one another. There was a bit of a pause before Leonard cleared his throat.

"So, um Penny, have you seen much of Pasadena yet?" he asked.

Penny made a face. "Kinda." A smile then spread across her face. Instead of being shy, she would decide to get to know this man better, and not even care about his number. So she continued her story.

"When I was driving toward my new apartment I drove past this shoe place that had shoes that were to die for!" she moved her arms to emphasise how much these shoes meant to her.

Leonard smiled and let his eyes drift over this girl that sat a mere two feet away from him. He looked at the way her golden hair shone with the light from above reflecting off it, the way her lips would curl into a smile every time he smiled or laughed at her story, and the way her eyes glistened, and never left his once, though he wondered why they were filled with worry and fear…

"So anyway, the poor removalist guy had to carry four boxes up the stairs!" Penny laughed. "And when I told him why he snatched the money from my hand and left, muttering a string of words my mother would never want me to repeat!"

Leonard laughed again. "This is nice," he said, resting an elbow on the table. "Howard and Raj said if I screwed things up, maybe they would have a shot with you." He smirked. "I highly doubt it."

Penny rested her hands on her chin. "Who are Howard and Raj?"

"My friends from the university I work at," Leonard explained. "Howard's an engineer; whose way to flirt with women would knock the socks off his mother, and Raj is an astrophysicist who can't talk to women unless he's drunk."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Um, they sound…nice, I think."

Leonard grinned. "They are, once you get to know them…and manage to get Raj to speak to you without alcohol."

Penny chuckled and they stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Penny looked away and grabbed a menu. "So, uh, what did you want to eat?"

Leonard felt his heart sink before he did the same. "The roasted lamb sounds nice. What about you?"

Penny ran a finger down the list, tongue stuck out in concentration, before she perked up. "I like the sound of steamed lobster."

Leonard closed his menu. "Cool, we'll get them." He waved his hand towards the waiter, then turned and grinned at Penny, who grinned back.

And despite what both their minds were telling them, they knew they were falling helplessly for each other.

**-OoO-**

"Dude, I am having the best time!" Raj shouted to Howard over the loud music, staring at all the people crowded in the bar.

Howard nodded, his eyes fixed on a girl in the corner of the bar, talking to another girl. "Yeah, I'll be back," he said, and walked off towards her.

Raj shrugged and sauntered off to the counter, ordering a beer and glancing over towards his friend, who had already begun talking to the woman. She actually seemed to be giggling and even rested her hand on his arm. Raj shook his head.

"How does he do that?" he wondered, downing the last of his beer and letting his eyes wander to the next girl.

She was a small figure, with short black hair. She seemed uncomfortable with her surroundings, and kept shifting in her seat.

Raj sighed sympathetically. He hated seeing women who were so much like himself.

Watching Howard and the girl leave, he made his way over to the woman. "Excuse me," he said. "May I sit here?"

The girl looked startled. "Um, sh-sure, I-I guess."

Raj smiled and sat down. There was a silence before he spoke up. "Sorry about your friend ditching you for that guy."

The girl cocked her head. "Do you know him?"

Raj took a breath and nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately."

She smiled slightly. "Well, thanks for coming over here. I really don't like crowded places."

Raj smiled. "No problem," he said.

**-OoO-**

Leonard and Penny left the restaurant and headed towards Penny's car. "That was nice," she said. "I'm glad we did this."

Leonard turned to her and smiled. "Me too," he said.

After a couple minutes with neither of them saying a word, Penny bit her lip and reached towards Leonard's hand, gently taking it in hers.

Leonard's eyes widened in surprise as he looked down at their two hands, before he too wrapped his fingers around hers.

After another few minutes they got to Penny's car and stopped. "Did you want to do this again sometime?" she asked softly.

Leonard looked down at their hands. "I think that would be nice," he grinned, nodding.

Penny grinned back. "Me too," she agreed, and before either of them knew she leaned forward and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes.

Leonard gasped slightly, shocked by the sudden move, before he too closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist.

_Remember, remember, remember!_

Despite not wanting this moment to end at all, Leonard couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in his brain. His dreams had even told him!

Reluctantly he pulled away. "I-I'm sorry, I just can't do this," he exclaimed, placing his hands over his yes and shaking his head.

Penny's eyes widened and her heart sank. "Oh, okay," she whispered. She'd been with a number of guys before, but none had even said that.

Leonard looked up and his heart shattered at the saddened look on her face. He took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, before quickly kissing her and walking away.

**-OoO-**

**A/N That last part really hurt me to write :( But there has to be a problem in a story right? R&R if you enjoyed :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hey guys!**

**So, for those of you who read my bio, you know some of the reason, but not all, so here it is.**

**As I mentioned earlier in the story, I lost someone really close to me. We've been helping take care of her family as well as mourning the loss ourselves, and it hasn't really put me in the mood to write.**

**Secondly, as the end of the year is nearing, I'm getting more and more assignments to complete, which gives me no time to write.**

**Lastly, I've been involved in a situation with my friends recently, which puts me in tears every time I think about it. This has also not put me in the mood for writing.**

**Even with all this I am still super sorry for once again making you wait this long. I will still continue with this story but won't be able to update every Friday like I said. Thankyou guys for sticking through with this :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot of this story!**

**-OoO-**

Sheldon sat in his apartment on his laptop, working, when Leonard stormed through the door, flopping onto the couch and holding his head in his hands. Without looking around Sheldon spoke:

"Problem?" he asked.

Leonard just shook his head. "I messed up," he croaked out. "Big time!"

Sheldon kept working on his laptop. "I take it your night out with Penny didn't go as planned."

Leonard looked up and sighed. "You could say that again."

This time Sheldon turned around. "Was it because of your dreams?"

Leonard visibly paled. "I…I'm going to bed." He stood up and strode off to his bedroom. Sheldon tsked and turned back to his laptop.

"If that's what he was like on his date, then no wonder he can't get women," he muttered, before excitedly clicking on a link for koala pictures.

**-OoO-**

Penny drove back towards her apartment, trying not to let the tears blur her vision of the busy Pasadena freeway. She'd decided to take the long way home, wanting to avoid the route Leonard took in case she happened to run into him on the way.

Instantly pictures of her night swam back into her mind. She had no idea what she had done wrong. The date went well, supposedly, and she thought he'd like that she kissed him.

Really, she thought she'd be the one ending it.

She hated herself for even agreeing to go on this date! Every time she looked into someone's eyes before kissing them their number flashed before her, and she couldn't do it.

But with Leonard it was different. Even with his number nearing, she found herself to be drawn to him, wanting to be near him, wanting to feel his lips against hers.

And for wanting this feeling so bad, she hated herself.

Penny reached towards her eyes to wipe away the tears, only to find that they were falling freely and her eyesight was already blurring up. Sighing she turned off to the side of the road and laid her head on the steering wheel, sobbing uncontrollably.

**-OoO-**

Raj and Howard waved goodbye to the women as they left the bar, before turning and walking the other way.

"Wow, I actually picked up a woman!" Howard exclaimed, getting to his car and unlocking it. "I never thought I'd achieve that, let alone get her number!"

Raj was grinning and nodding along with what Howard said, but stopped suddenly and frowned when he got to the phone number part. "I didn't get her phone number," he said. "Why's that?"

Howard shrugged. "From where I was she didn't look all that comfortable, but I'll get Bernadette to ask on Monday."

Raj took a gulp of his beer. "Is that her name?"

Howard sighed dreamily before placing the keys in the ignition. "Yeah. She's hoping to become a microbiologist, but at the moment she's working at the Cheesecake Factory."

Raj took another sip and watched as Howard turned towards Sheldon and Leonard's apartment block. "Isn't that where Penny works, you know, the chick across the hall?"

Howard nodded. "I asked Bernie if she knew her, and she said they were really close. When she called her tonight she wouldn't stop going on and on about Leonard."

"Did you tell her you knew him?"

"Yeah, and she said he sounded like a great guy." Howard scoffed. "If you're in to guys that are lactose intolerant, are way below average in size and can't see where they're going without a pair of glasses handy."

Raj nodded, looking down at his feet. "Well, I don't really have much to say about Lucy. I pretty much did all the talking."

Howard choked back a laugh as he entered the apartment block. "Wow, when there's no alcohol around, you two are going to make one heck of an interesting relationship."

**-OoO-**

_He was trapped. Everywhere he looked there was black. He couldn't see his shaking hands in front of him. He tried shouting for help, but no sound came out of his mouth. He sat down, legs trembling, trying to control his fear. The baby was cradled in his arms, and he wrapped it closer to him._

_Suddenly he was in a city, surrounded by chaos. People ran screaming from their homes as fires raged throughout the houses and buildings, destroying everything in there. Screams echoed through his mind, soulless and full of fear._

_As he looked straight ahead a huge wave crashed into a high-rise, sending it crumpling to the ground. As it landed the earth shook, and he was jolted off his feet and onto the cracking pavement._

_He quickly scrambled back up and grabbed the child, then started running away from the madness and turmoil._

_Finally, when the city was far behind him he stopped, trying to regain his breath, and hoping against hope that she didn't show up again._

_He should've kept his thoughts to himself._

_As soon as he got his breathing under control again, she appeared, slowly walking from behind a large tree to his right. His heart began to pound furiously, and he backed away as she came nearer, eyes glinting viciously and a smile on her face that was enough to send chills up your entire body. But when she spoke it sounded as sweet as honey, but he knew different._

_"__I'm surprised to see you here, Leonard," she said sweetly, still walking towards him._

_Leonard continued to walk backwards, holding the frightened infant closer. "No, Penny, please, don't do this. What have I done?"_

_He tried to tear his eyes away from her, but couldn't. How could someone be so beautiful and yet so evil?_

_The smile left Penny's face, and was replaced by a look of sadness. "It's what haven't you done Leonard," she said, grabbing the baby from his arms and reaching into the pocket of her jeans. "And I'm terribly sorry, but it's for the best."_

_A sharp knife appeared in her hand just as Leonard fell back onto the dirt. There was no escape now; he was done for._

_He tried one last time to plead with her as she stopped in front of his fallen figure. Loud cries erupted from the child. "I'm sorry," he cried. "For whatever I did to you, I'm sorry!"_

_Penny brought the knife down slowly, tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm sorry too Leonard, I'm sorry too."_

_Leonard closed his eyes and awaited the pain, as six numbers flashed across his eyes…_

Leonard awoke and gasped, trying to catch his breath. He looked around his room, and breathed a sigh of relief as he found it was only a dream.

He laid his head back down, trying to steady his beating heart, but all he could think about were the numbers.

20-07-15.

He now knew what they were, and it freaked him out. But there was only one person he could speak to about this, and he knew it would freak him out even more.

**-OoO-**

**A/N There you have it, you now know why Leonard was so nervous around Penny! Thankyou also to everyone that's read, reviewed etc :)**


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